Prince of Fire
by TheAmbitiousWriter
Summary: Nalu AU. Natsu, the prince of the dynasty of Dragneel, was killed in the year X777. His uncle, the lord Atlas Flame, is still fighting the bitter war against the dynasty of Heartfillia. But Lucy, the princess of this kingdom, hears strange rumors about a prisoner in the dungeon under the castle, and inevitably finds herself drawn into an adventure she never expected…
1. Prologue

_Prologue_

 _The two dynasties of Heartfillia and Dragneel had been at war for what seemed like forever. Both kingdoms had powerful forces, and they were evenly matched in battle. The war had gone on so long, in fact, that no one seemed to remember why they were fighting in the first place. But that never stopped them._

 _One dark, cloudless night, the fighting reached the capital of Lord Igneel Dragneel's kingdom. The members of the court ran this way and that, screaming piercingly as Lord Jude Heartfillia's men cut them down. Lord Igneel's men tried their best to keep them at bay, but there was little they could do._

 _The enemy soldiers were confident in their victory, until the king himself decided to join the fight. Their cheering died in their throats. Lord Igneel was a tremendous fighter, and not only did he have skill with the sword, his magic combined with this so that he could strike down twenty men at once, with both sword and fire in his hands. It was this power that had earned him the nickname 'The Dragon King'._

 _With a mighty roar worthy of his name, Lord Igneel drew his sword and charged the enemy. Soldiers ran screaming in terror, fleeing for their very lives. The battle was over within a quarter of an hour. The king stood panting, relieved that his city was safe, and more importantly, his son was unharmed…_

 _A page ran up to him, face white as a sheet._

 _"My lord! My lord!"_

 _"What's wrong? Has something happened?"_

 _"It's your son, milord, Prince Natsu! He has been taken by the enemy!" Igneel's usually ruddy face turned pale. He dropped his sword with a clang. But it was not just the news that had struck him. A soldier, taken for dead, had, with the last of his strength, thrown a dagger at the king's back. Lord Igneel fell, still weeping for his eleven-year old son, whom he knew he would never see again._


	2. I: Collision of Fates

Chapter I: Collision of Fates

"Princess?" came a familiar voice. Lucy turned over in her bed, wishing Virgo would leave her alone for once. She'd been up all night with the war council, listening to her father's court debate about what should be done about Lord Atlas Flame and the kingdom of Dragneel, who were still resisting even after most of their kingdom had been conquered after the death of Lord Igneel. Of course, she hadn't actually been allowed to say anything, but as she was the only current heir to the throne, she was obliged to be there.

"Did you feed Happy?" Lucy mumbled, still half-asleep.

"Of course, Princess," Virgo replied. "He very much enjoyed the fish."

"So you can talk to cats now, huh?"

"Well, I could tell by the look on his face, Princess. Now you really ought to get out of bed; I know you don't have much to do today but it's past noon and there is a limit to how much you can sleep, princess or not." Lucy sighed and rolled out of bed, allowing Virgo to dress her (which took the better part of an hour), stopping to stroke Happy, who purred in contentment, and left to meet her father at breakfast.

She sat at the end of the long table, as far away as possible from her father who always took the head seat. Of course, this meant Fried had to walk the entire length of the table to deliver the food to each of them, but being a servant, he never seemed to mind all that much. Lucy had a feeling she could insult him outright and he would just reply with that eerie, monotone 'Yes, Lady Lucy'. She never _would_ do that, of course. She tried to be much nicer to the servants than her father.

"Lucy," Her father's voice cut into her thoughts. "I noticed that you seemed preoccupied at the council meeting last night. Are you worried about the resistance Atlas Flame is posing? Don't worry, my dear, he'll soon be wiped out like his predecessor."

"It's not that. It's just that you wanted to send out Captain Erza's troops to try and take Oshibana, while increasing armaments here to protect the capital. But shouldn't you send out the extra supplies to Captain Laxus at Clover? He's having a tough battle there and besides, the capital is already well protected."

Her father's eyes narrowed. He had always been a sexist man, and he didn't believe women should have anything to do with military strategy or running a kingdom. That's why he had been so upset to produce a daughter and not a son. But Queen Layla had died before another attempt could be made and Jude had yet to remarry, so Lucy was all he had for now.

"Don't try to sound clever, Lucy. I know you're only repeating something you read in a book somewhere." Lucy made a face at him and pushed at her food with a fork. This was why she hated mealtimes.

Suddenly Fried rushed into the room, looking rather harried, which was odd for him. He ran over and said something quietly to Jude, who looked anxious. Lucy strained to hear.

"... tell Doranbolt to halve his food supply, then." her father said.

"But my lord, it's already been halved three times in the last week," Fried responded. "I just don't think there's anyway of forcing him to co-operate. He's as stubborn as he was seven years ago."

"Well, do something! I don't care! I swear, if he causes any more trouble I'll kill him myself!" Lucy pretended to look disinterested, but inside, her heart was racing. Doranbolt was the head of security for the royal capital along with Lahar, so they were likely talking about a prisoner. But what sort of prisoner could have been held captive for seven years? And how was he still causing trouble, after all this time?

Her mind buzzing with questions, Lucy excused herself and wandered out to the courtyard, her favourite place in the castle. Looking down into the fountain at the two koi fish that were kept there, she whispered,

"Hello Aquarius, Pisces. Are you well?" She crumbled a piece of bread left over from breakfast in her fingers and watched the fish fight good-naturedly over it. Inside, she pondered what kind of prisoner could be trapped for seven years and still have the strength to fight his captors. Someone with an iron will, she thought. Images of handsome ruffians invaded her head and she pushed them away, flushing. Still, she could not totally keep her imagination at bay. Lucy could picture him: Tall, with long, dark hair and chiseled features, maybe a bit of stubble. Just like a handsome prince from a fairy tale. All of a sudden, an idea came to her. The castle was right over the dungeons, and she had most of today off, right? So why not look for this alleged prisoner? Lucy shook her head. The idea was ridiculous. She had no idea where the entrance to the dungeons were, and besides, she had never even heard of the prisoner before today, so he was probably pretty deep in them.

But for some reason, Lucy found her legs carrying her back inside to ask Virgo…

oOo

Gray was scared. That was a new feeling. He'd fought in plenty of battles before, and he hadn't felt anywhere near as scared as he did right now. Well, maybe once, when he saw his captain, Ur, die right in front of him, killed by one of Lord Jude's fiercest warriors: Deliora, known as the 'Demon of Destruction' for his ferocity in battle. But Deliora himself had been killed by Ur just before she died.

The sound of footsteps snapped Gray out of his reverie. Sweating buckets, he pulled open the door of a nearby room and slipped in. He wished his heart would stop beating so loudly; he was certain someone would hear it. The footsteps, however, passed him by, leaving him breathless with relief.

He glanced around the room. It was dim and lavishly furnished, like most of the rooms in this castle. No one appeared to be there, which was unbelievably lucky.

Without warning, the covers of the huge, four-poster bed shifted. Heart racing, Gray took a fighting stance. He let out his breath, however, when he saw that it was just a cat. The cat looked at him interestedly, then came up and nuzzled his leg. Gray blinked; in the dim light, the cat had looked blue. His eyes followed the feline as it made its way unhurriedly out of the room.

Why on earth had Atlas Flame thought it was a good idea to send him into the Heartfillia kingdom? And to the Royal City, of all places? Gray sighed. At least his mission was clear, though it was near impossible. As the leader of the Ice Assassins unit, it was his duty to carry out this one mission.

To kill Jude and Lucy Heartfillia.

oOo

"Well, that failed," sighed Lucy, striding down the corridor. Virgo hadn't known where the dungeons were after all. She might as well ask Happy, she thought sarcastically.. Speaking of which, where was Happy? She called for him, but he didn't come. That was only to be expected, though; he often wandered about castle on his own.

She paused when she heard movement in a nearby room. That was strange; she knew that room was unoccupied. The door swung slowly open, revealing Happy, who completely ignored her and walked off towards the armoury. Lucy peeked into the room, but she didn't see anything else. She was about to leave when something bright in the dim room caught her eye. On the table beside the bed lay a white scarf, patterned with scales. On an impulse, Lucy scooped it up, examined it briefly, and left the room. She didn't see the pair of dark blue eyes watching her go from the shadows under the bed. She didn't even hear Gray curse as he tried to think why he hadn't killed the blond-haired girl.

The Ice Assassin was extremely confused. He had had the opportunity. Why hadn't he done it? Perhaps he was too soft-hearted to be an assassin… But that didn't matter now. He had to do it. For the sake of his king, he would kill the man that murdered Lord Igneel and Prince Natsu, and that man's daughter as well.

oOo

"What? Why me?" Doranbolt complained. "I don't want to have to deal with him." Fried fixed the man in his piercing stare.

"You know very well that you are the only one who can even get near him, Doranbolt."

"I still don't know why, though. Fine, I guess I haven't really got a choice…" Doranbolt glared at Fried, snatched the plate out of his hands, and teleported. When the remnants of the spell faded, he found himself in a small stone room with no windows or doors. A tiny hole allowed for ventilation, but that was it.

At first glance, the room was completely empty, save for a pile of blankets in one corner. Then the pile of blankets moved, and one could see that it was not a pile of blankets at all, but a makeshift bed in which lay a boy of about eighteen. His pink hair was dishevelled and his face was dirty, but there was a fire in his eyes all the same.

"Oh, it's you." The boy's voice was hoarse from lack of use, and yet he still managed to sound scathing. "Sick of dropping food in through the hole? Come to deliver it first-hand, eh?"

"Listen, Salamander, you know I'm not like the others. I do try to help you out when I can, and when I can't, I tell you about it…"

"I don't need your help." Doranbolt sighed and set down the plate of food next to the boy's head. It was always like this; he insisted that he needed no help at all, but Doranbolt was sure that if he hadn't started sneaking in extra food rations for the boy, he would have starved a long time ago. Salamander had an appetite like nothing he had ever seen.

Yet again, Doranbolt found himself wondering about the boy's origins. No one knew who he really was save the King and Captain Erza; for in the great battle seven years ago when Lord Igneel had been slain, Erza had brought back a struggling pink-haired eleven-year-old with the request that he be made a prisoner. Not even the boy himself knew exactly where he came from, for the only thing he said he could remember when he thought back to the night of his capture was blood and panic and the screams of someone close to him, whose name he couldn't quite recall, or did not want to. From before that, the boy recounted vague memories of lessons in magic and fighting, but nothing more, not even his own name.

The guards in the dungeon called him Salamander because of the nature of his magic, although he couldn't often use it anymore since he was always so drained from lack of nourishment and good sleep. The boy would often wake screaming in the night, dreaming again of that day of blood and rage. Occasionally, he racked up enough power to make an escape attempt, but he'd never made it past all the guards.

"Well, whether you need my help or not, your food ration's been cut in half again," continued Doranbolt. "You need to stop acting out so much. The king's on the verge of having you executed, you know."

"Ha!" laughed Salamander. "I've been in here goin' on seven years, and he ain't done nothin' yet."

"Even so…"

"You can go ahead and leave. Nothin' you say is gonna change the way I think." Salamander turned away so that his face was cast in shadow. For some reason, Doranbolt got the impression that he was smiling. The man looked sadly at the prisoner, and with a breath laden with despondency, he transported out of the windowless cell.

oOo

As Lucy turned the scarf over in her hands, something fell out of the thick, white material with a _clunk_. It was a key. A beautiful, golden key. Lucy picked it up, examining it. It was made of gold, shaped like a dragon with flames pouring out of its mouth. She wondered what it opened; as far as she knew, only a few rooms in the castle were ever locked.

A sudden inspiration struck her. Perhaps this key led to the dungeon where the mysterious prisoner was incarcerated! It was probably too good to be true, but worth checking out. With this, perhaps she could finally get into one of those closed rooms.

She tucked the key into her dress and left the room. On her way out, she bumped into Doranbolt, who looked considerably startled.

"L-Lady Lucy," he stammered. "I-I didn't know you'd be here."

"Well, where else would I be?" inquired Lucy, curious why Doranbolt seemed so anxious.

"F-Fair point," he managed, then took off so fast he might have teleported. Lucy giggled. Maybe he'd just _had to know_ something, and that's why he'd been acting so strange. Doranbolt was definitely a strange one, which was why he had Lahar to straighten him out.

A few minutes later, Lucy approached one of the always-locked doors in the castle. Holding her breath, she tried the key in the lock. It was far too big, however, and she breathed out with a sigh. Not this one, then.

Not the next one, either. Or the one after that. Soon, Lucy had tried the key in all the locked doors she knew of, but none of them opened for her. She leaned against the wall, depressed. Why had she gotten her hopes up? The key was probably ornamental. There was no way it would lead her anywhere, especially not to the dungeons.

A loud mewling sound interrupted her thoughts. She looked up, startled to see Happy standing in the corridor before her. She was certain he hadn't been there a second ago, and there were no doors in this particular section of hallway save the one behind her. So where had the cat come from?

Without any sort of warning, Happy leapt up, grabbed the scarf from her slackened grip, and took off. She stared after him for a fraction of a second. Then she yelled,

"Hey! Get back here, cat!"

Lucy chased the blue feline down the corridor, pausing only to hike up her skirts in order to run better. Happy wasn't running all that fast, even stopping now and then and looking back, as though he wanted her to follow him. Lucy stumbled in her heels and cursed, stopping again to chuck them away.

She was very close to catching Happy when he disappeared into a wall. Lucy cried out in surprise, tripping over a loose flagstone, and fell forward, straight into the wall. She found herself falling through a tapestry concealing a door in the wall. _So this is where Happy went._ Unfortunately for Lucy, the other side of the tapestry was a stairwell. She shrieked as she fell, head over heels, down the stone stairs.

Once she had come to a halt, she checked for anything broken, then started off after Happy, who had been patiently waiting at the bottom of the stairs. The hall was long and dark, with only an occasional flickering torch to light the way. When Lucy came to the end of the tunnel, the torches were abandoned in favour of glowing white lacrimas in the walls. She stopped abruptly, for the tunnel ended in a solid stone wall. There was a small hole near the bottom, through which Happy crept into the room beyond. Lucy sighed and bent down to listen.

"Happy? What have you got?" The voice was unfamiliar to Lucy; it sounded rough and unrefined, but at the same time there was a twang to it that she couldn't quite place. "A scarf? Where'd you find that, li'l buddy?" The speaker paused after each question, as though he were receiving an answer. It was as if Lucy were hearing half a conversation. "Hmm? There's a girl outside? Well, why didn't you tell me?! She's probably listening right now!" Lucy's heart was in her mouth as she heard scuffling noises. Slowly, she bent down enough to see through the hole.

"Eek!" Just on the other side, a face was peering out curiously. Onyx eyes flashed in the lacrima light, partially hidden by a shock of pink hair. Upon seeing Lucy, the face broke into a wide grin.

"Hi there!"

"Um, hello."

"It's nice to see a new face around here- for seven years, all I got were the guard's ugly mugs." Happy interrupted with an indignant meow. A look of surprise came over the boy's face.

"Wait, you're a princess?! No way!" He stared at her, slack-jawed. Lucy raised an eyebrow.

"How did you know?"

"Duh, Happy told me. He seems ta know you pretty well." Lucy stared at him. Did he really think Happy could talk? Was this guy delusional?

"I hate to break it to you, but… Happy's a cat."

"So?"

"So, cats don't talk." The boy's eyes widened. He looked considerably startled.

"You mean… you really can't understand him either? I thought… I thought Doranbolt was just screwin' around…" The boy looked down. "Maybe I'm crazy after all."

Lucy stared right at the boy without really seeing him. The only wizards who had ever been able to communicate with animals were the seven Dragon Kin, but there was no way this boy could be descended from dragons… right?

"Uh… What's your name? I'm Lucy…"

"My name? I dunno that, but people mostly call me Salamander. Except Happy; he calls me Natsu 'cos my hair is the colour of the flowers that bloom in summer."

 _Natsu? Like the prince who died? I suppose it must be a coincidence… all the same, the name suits him. His personality is warm, just like the summer._

"Lucy, huh? That's a real pretty name… I guess you're a princess, so you oughta have a pretty name… but you don't look much like a princess to me." Lucy frowned at him. Her cheeks felt warm. There was something about this boy that reminded her of something, but she couldn't think what.

"I hear a guard coming," said the boy suddenly. "You should probably go." Lucy couldn't hear anything, but she took his advice and hurried off down the corridor. However, she looked back, and caught a glimpse of the boy's face just before he left the small opening in the wall. He looked so incredibly sad it brought tears to Lucy's eyes.

About halfway back to the stairs she had fallen down, Lucy found a side corridor leading off the main one. By this time, she, too, could hear the footsteps of an approaching guard. Hastening down the stone hallway, she soon found a ladder of metal spikes attached to the wall. She was very glad of being barefoot now.

The ladder ended in a wooden trapdoor, which Lucy carefully pushed open. She found herself coming out of a false bottom in a trunk in the armoury. Closing the trunk behind her, she made her way back to her room in a daze, completely forgetting to retrieve her shoes from where she had thrown them down in disgust.

oOo

Gray carefully slipped around a bookshelf, making sure to remain in the shadows. He felt a cold drop of sweat slide down the back of his neck. It was now or never. King Jude Heartfillia was alone in the room; his guards were positioned outside. Jude sat at his desk, alone, writing.

Time seemed to slow down as Gray stepped forward, an ice dagger in his hand. Jude sat still, only his hand moving as he wrote. Gray raised the weapon, but he hesitated. An image of the blond princess kept flashing through his mind.

He brought his hand down a second too late. Jude moved and he missed, the ice dagger plunging into the wooden desk, cracking it. Gray barely heard the king scream for his guards, barely felt himself being dragged away. One question flooded his mind: why hadn't he done it? Why couldn't he bring himself to do his duty and kill the enemy king?

But somehow, Gray thought he already knew the answer…

" _Hey! Popsicle! Come and fight me!"_

" _Yeah, right, Prince Pyro. You just want me to get arrested." Gray glared at the pink-haired youth. Why did this prince always want to fight him?_

" _C'mon, Gray! You're the only one around here who doesn't treat me like I'm made of glass… let's spar, please?"_

His surroundings grew darker. Gray tried not to remember any more… but he couldn't help but think of that bloody day seven years ago…

" _Gray! Behind you!" Gray turned, ducking another attack, and blasted the soldier off his feet. Prince Natsu took out the other two easily._

" _Who are these guys? What do they want?" he panted._

" _I dunno," Gray responded. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of red. "Prince-!" A scarlet-haired girl in armour darted into the room, grabbed Natsu by the shoulders, and held her sword to his throat._

" _Wha- she's just a kid!" exclaimed Gray._

" _Where is Lord Igneel?" asked the girl. "Tell me, or I'll kill him." She pressed harder on the blade, causing Natsu to gag._

" _Like hell you will!" choked Natsu, kicking her in the shin. She barely flinched. Gray hesitated, unsure of what to do. The door burst open suddenly, and a soldier rushed in. He said something to the girl, who nodded and started to drag the prince towards the door._

 _Gray made to go after them, but something struck him in the back of the head and he blacked out._

 _When he woke, the room was empty. He shouted and pulled himself to his feet, stumbling towards the door. He ran as fast as his feet would carry him, hoping, fearing, trying to not to think of the worst. Then he came to the courtyard. There was a huge crowd there, although it was night. People were screaming, wailing, sobbing. Gray pushed his way through the crowd, utterly silent._

 _In the centre there was a clear space. On the blood-stained flagstones lay two figures: the body of Lord Igneel, king of the Dragneel dynasty. And his son, lying face-down on the cobblestones._

 _Gray didn't shout, or cry, or sob. He walked into the clear space and kneeled next to his prince. Feeling numb, he gently turned over Natsu's body. There was no mistaking that face; it was him. The prince's pink hair was sticky with blood, and his eyes stared blankly at nothing, their onyx gaze dim._

" _You idiot," whispered Gray. His face grew wet with tears, but they fell silently, without sobbing. "You idiot!" he screamed, tilting his face to the sky. "Why do you always think you can handle things on your own?! Look what your stupidity did!" The crowd grew quiet._

" _I'm sorry," Gray said quietly. "Pri… Natsu, I…" He trailed off, feeling that there was nothing more he could say. His prince was gone, after all, so what could anyone say now? What words could have meaning, with the world so dark in his eyes?_

 _His tears continued to fall, but they did nothing to wipe away the blood that stained the night._


	3. II: Throwing Caution to the Winds

Thanks to all my lovely reviewers! I can't live off this many reviews though, please feed me! I am a starving author WHO EATS REVIEWS!

To **MeganRouth:** Don't worry, you won't have to wait too long, since I have no life. :P

To **Alright Mate:** The only reason is because I needed one for plot. Which is why no-one remembers why they're fighting.

To **Rose Tiger:** Don't worry, he'll be fine. Emotionally scarred, but fine. *evil smirk*

To anime is life: I think I fixed it, is it okay now?

To **Crazy Shorty:** Thanks! Unfortunately, I'm rather scatterbrained and this will likely be a pretty short story. Like, 5 chapters.

Chapter II: Throwing Caution to the Winds

The Salamander awoke, deep in the dungeons under the castle, to a sound he hadn't heard in years: the sound of someone shouting. Ever since he had burned down a section of the prison, he had always been kept in a cell far from any other prisoners, but evidently they had run out of room. Natsu strained to hear what the guards were yelling to one another.

"Careful there, he can use ice magic! Get him into the cell fast!"

"There! Close the door! Sheesh, we ain't had a prisoner give us this much trouble since _that_ one came in." Natsu could imagine him gesturing towards the doorless cell.

"Why's he being imprisoned, anyway? He tried to kill the King, so he's on grounds for execution, innit he?"

"Lord Jude thinks he'll have information on where Atlas Flame's troops'll strike next."

"Like I would tell you that!" came a muffled voice. Natsu started; it sounded… almost familiar…

"Natsu?" asked Happy concernedly. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just… I feel like I know that guy's voice from somewhere." In fact, the more he thought about it, the more certain he was that he _did_ know that voice from somewhere. The memory hovered just out of reach, pressing on the corners of his mind. Natsu tried to reach it, but it just caused his head to throb with pain. Red spots danced in front of his eyes.

" _What are you doing?! Are you insane?! Just let them take me, please!"_

" _I'm the real one! Take me instead!"_

" _NO!"_

A scream echoed in his ears, the same scream that tortured his dreams at night. A girl's scream. Natsu took a shaky breath and forcefully pushed the memory out of his mind.

"Natsu…?"

"I-I'm fine. It's nothing."

"Nothing, my paw. I can tell when you're upset. I can try to get Lucy to come down later if you want, but she's really dumb, so it might take a while."

"Why don't you take her a message then?"

"Good idea! Even dumb 'ol Lucy would understand that!" Happy left through the hole, returning shortly with a quill, ink pot, and parchment.

"I borrowed them from Lucy," he whispered. "You'd better write it, 'cos I can't." Natsu picked up the quill, dipped it in the ink pot, and though for a moment, quill hovering over the parchment. Before the ink had a chance to drip, however, he was writing, words flowing over the page like a river of ink.

 _Lady Lucy,_

 _I'm sending this message with Happy. I hope it reaches you safely. I know we met rather by accident, but I hope you can come to visit again. There's a new prisoner in this sector that I'd like to ask you about._

 _Yours in captivity,_

 _Salamander_

"Wow, you write really well," commented Happy, leaning over. "It's really different from how you talk."

"Eh? Oh, yeah, I guess so." Natsu rolled up the parchment and held it out to Happy, who took it gingerly in his mouth and raced off. The Salamander leaned back against the rough stone wall, hands behind his head, and waited.

oOo

"Deliver this message, deliver this message, deliver this… Ooh! Fish!" Happy skidded to a halt, nose twitching as he caught the scent of fish wafting out the kitchen door. He shook himself suddenly and hurried on down the hallway, ignoring the delicious smell. "I have to give this message to Lucy! No fish 'till I'm done!" Happy ran around a corner, straight into a tall figure.

"Huh? A cat?" It was Doranbolt. "It's got something in its mouth…"

"AHHGH!" shouted Happy, though Doranbolt couldn't understand him, taking off at a run down the corridor. He rocketed into Lucy's room, vaulted onto the bed, and dropped the parchment on the bed, panting.

"Woah! Happy?" Lucy got down from the window-seat and picked up the message.

"I'd better get some tasty fish for this," grumbled Happy. Lucy quickly read through the letter, raising her eyebrows.

"Lady Lucy-!" Doranbolt threw open the door suddenly. Lucy hid the message behind her back.

"What is it?"

"I- the cat had- something in its mouth-"

"Probably some fish from the kitchens," Lucy replied coolly. "You know how Happy loves his fish." Doranbolt flushed crimson, muttered something, and took his leave. Lucy giggled.

"That was close," she sighed. "Thanks for the message, Happy."

"I knew you'd be too stupid to understand anything else."

"Let's go see this Salamander, then!" Lucy continued, far more confidently than she would have been had she understood Happy's comment.

oOo

Gray sat in the darkness, waiting. Waiting for this endless night to cease, though he knew it would not. Trying not to fall into the shadowy abyss of his memory. It was cold down here, he thought. He didn't get cold easily. Why was it so cold, anyway? Wouldn't the prisoners freeze?

" _Gray, it's too cold out here. I know you and Lyon aren't bothered, but…"_

" _Well, maybe you shouldn't have followed me out here, flame-for-brains. Just use your fire or something to warm yourself up." Natsu looked at him scathingly._

" _It's too cold for my fire magic to work. I'm not very good at using it yet." Gray opened his mouth to respond, but he was hit with a huge snowball. Lyon laughed heartily._

" _Ugh, Lyon-" Suddenly, the other boy received a face full of snow. Gray turned to see Natsu with his throwing arm extended, a look of surprise on his face._

" _I hit him," said the prince, awed by his own throw._

" _Of course you did," Gray said quietly. "You're better than you think you are…"_

"Stop thinking about that," Gray muttered to himself. "He's dead… he's gone, you're never going to see him again…"

" _G-Gray…?"_

"No! That isn't him, he's dead!"

"Gray!" The voice rang out against the stones. "Don't let her die…" Gray stumbled to his feet, pressing his face to the bars that separated him from the guard outside.

"Who is that? Whose voice is that?" he asked desperately. The guard turned, startled.

"That… that's the Salamander," he stuttered. "He tends to cry out in his sleep…" Gray fell back against the wall. Just some prisoner. He probably hadn't heard his name; sharing a name with a colour meant he often thought someone was talking to him when they were not. But that prisoner's voice sounded so very much like the voice of the dead prince…

"Gray… Gray!" The Ice Assassin shut his eyes and tried to stop himself from shivering so much.

It wasn't that cold.

oOo

Lucy hurried down the stone hallway that was lit by the dim light of lacrimas. She found herself wondering yet again why this section was lit so when the rest of the prison was lit with torches. She had visited the Salamander quite a few times since their first meeting, and yet this still puzzled her.

"Oy! Lucy, over here!" Salamander's voice echoed off the cold stone walls. Lucy quickly found the hole in the wall again and bent down to speak through it.

"What's so important? I can't stay long this time; my father needs me to attend another war meeting."

"Couldja do me a favour and talk to the guy in the cell just down the hall? The guard is changing right now, so there won't be anyone there."

"Sure, I guess… Hold on, why aren't _you_ ever guarded?"

"Um… I sorta set the last few guardsmen on fire, so they decided it wasn't in their best interests." Lucy didn't have a response for that, so she turned and set off down the hall before the next guard shift showed up. Pausing outside the indicated door, she took a breath and looked in. A boy about her age was sitting against the far wall, his head in his hands.

"Ah… excuse me…" The boy jerked his head up. His dark blue eyes were wide with shock.

"Who are you?" he asked in a low voice.

"Sorry if this is confusing, but my name's Lucy Heartfillia…" The boy's eyes seemed to fill with a dark sort of recognition. "The prisoner down the hall wanted me to ask you… ah… he didn't specify really…" Lucy fumbled. "Um, why don't we start with your name?"

"Give it up." Lucy blinked in confusion.

"Huh?"

"I'm not telling you Atlas Flame's next move, because I don't know myself. Do you really think he'd entrust me with that information when he knew there was a possibility I'd get caught?"

"I only asked your name."

"It's Gray Fullbuster. Happy now?" Gray looked to the side. "Go back to your father and tell him I don't know anything, and he might as well kill me now."

"Gray! I'm here without my father's knowledge, on behalf of the prisoner I was telling you about, Salamander-"

"Salamander?!" Gray got to his feet. "Why does he… why did he send you to ask about me?"

"I don't know, exactly. Why-"

"What's your motive here, Heartfillia?" Gray said angrily. "Salamander already knows my name. I've heard him yell it in his sleep, and what beats me is how he knows it in the first place, because as far as I know, I've never even met him before!" He stopped, drawing a shaky breath. "You can go, Heartfillia, 'cos I ain't tellin' you anything."

Lucy pursed her lips, ready to retort, but was halted by the sound of approaching footsteps. She ran back to the stairwell, question after question flooding her mind. She would have quite a lot to tell the Salamander tomorrow.

oOo

"My lord?" Wendy could see Atlas Flame kneeling next to the two graves. He had a lantern beside him, but it wasn't casting much light. It was always pretty dark down here, though; this was where all the previous kings of the kingdom of Dragneel were buried.

"Wendy… shouldn't you be helping Grandina and Porlyusica tend to the wounded?"

"Shouldn't you be at the war council?"

"Ahh… you've got me there." Atlas Flame got to his feet, but remained in front of the graves. "It'll be the anniversary soon… seven years ago, was it?" Wendy stepped up to his side and peered at the carvings.

Both were built rather like a sarcophagus, with a stone box of sorts under a heavily decorated lid. On the lid lay a skillfully rendered statue of person resting beneath. The first had a sculpture of a man, short in stature but muscular, with fire in one hand and a sword in the other. The name read IGNEEL DRAGNEEL, X746 - X777. The one beside it was much smaller, but no less noticeable. The statue on top was of a boy, maybe eleven years old, wearing a scarf. He had a sword lying across his chest, as was the style then, with both hands clasped around the hilt. Flames of stone ran across the blade. The name was NATSU DRAGNEEL, X766 - X777.

"You know, I never knew Natsu or his father, since I was just a baby when they died," Wendy said consolingly. "But even though I didn't get to meet him, I think Natsu would have made a good king. And as his uncle, I'm sure you'll do everything you can to avenge him."

"If I win," Atlas Flame said quietly. He turned and climbed the stairs, heading back to the war council, and leaving Wendy beside Natsu's grave. She sighed and sat down beside the dark lantern.

"Natsu," she said into the still air. "I wish I could have met you."

oOo

The hall was empty when Lucy stepped out of the hidden passage. She let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding, and started toward the council room. Humming a little, she skipped around the corner and almost collided with her father.

"D-Dad?" Lucy gasped. Her father never just wandered the corridors like this. What was he up to?

"Lucy," Jude said quietly. "Is this yours?" He held up a fragment of parchment. A very familiar fragment of parchment. Lucy said nothing, but recognition must have flashed in her eyes because her father sighed in exasperation. "Doranbolt saw a cat with this in its mouth, and followed it into your room… You really ought to have disposed of it better." He gave a grim smile.

"It's not what you think, I swear…"

"That prisoner has tried my patience enough times, and now this… You've sealed his fate, Lucy. He'll be executed at dawn."

"No!"

"You'll have to find a less dangerous plaything, I'm afraid. I'm sure you can relieve your boredom some other way." Jude turned to leave.

"How… how dare you!" Lucy yelled. Her eyes were suspiciously wet but she didn't pay it any heed. "You would kill a fellow human being, just to teach me a lesson?! He's not a plaything! He's a living, breathing person, and… I-I won't let you kill him!" Lucy stopped to draw breath, but it turned into a sob.

"Lucy," her father growled. "This is for your own good. Now go to your chambers, and stay there." Jude left hurriedly, a steely glint in his eyes. Lucy watched him go, feeling the warmth of tears touch her face. Who knows how long she stood there; it could have been ten minutes or an hour. But when she came to her senses, it was all too clear what she had to do.

She ran back into the passageway, her heart thumping wildly in her chest. Screeching to a halt outside the now familiar hole in the wall, she called out desperately.

"Natsu!" A surprised face appeared on the other side.

"Huh? I thought you had a war meeting or somethin'... and, hey, you called me Natsu!" He glanced back at Happy, who was in the cell with him. "No, she did not 'steal your thing'. She can call me whatever she wants, 'cos I don't care."

"You have to listen to me, my father knows- he found the message- and he's given the order for… for…" Lucy's voice broke. She took a few shaky breaths and tried again.

"He's going to kill you!"

"W-what?" Natsu's onyx eyes grew wide with shock. "Are you sure?" Lucy nodded, her lip trembling.

"I'm going to get you out of here, somehow… I promise, I'll save you!" Lucy stood up, trying to look like she actually had a chance of breaking him out.

"Okay, let's go then." Natsu grinned at her. "Do you want me to break down this wall so we can leave sooner?" Lucy stared at him blankly. He'd said that so seriously… But to her astonishment, Natsu raised a fist and… set it on fire?! Lucy shrieked and leapt back as the Salamander, true to his name, blew the wall to pieces with fists wreathed in fire.

"If you could do that, why didn't you leave before?" she yelled.

"They always caught me before I made it out, so I stopped trying. But this time, I think we can make it. We should probably get movin' though, 'cos I'm pretty sure somebody heard that." Natsu grabbed her hand and pulled her along the corridor, still smiling. Lucy noticed that his hand was uncomfortably warm, but not hot enough to be painful. It seemed to grow cooler as they ran, though.

Natsu suddenly stopped, causing Lucy to trip over Happy, who had been running beside them. He aimed a kick at a nearby cell door.

"What are you doing…?" Natsu kicked at the door again, this time with fire. The door gave a little but didn't open.

"This is the cell with that guy I sent you to talk to. S'okay if he comes with us, right?" After a third kick, seeing that the door still refused to move, Natsu grabbed a nearby torch and, giving Lucy the fright of her life, devoured the flames.

"You…" Lucy trailed off, numb with shock. So that's why that one particular section of the prison was lit by lacrima...

"Ahh-! Now I've got a fire in my belly!" With a final kick, Natsu blasted apart the door, opening the cell. Gray looked up, startled.

"Who're you…?" Natsu stepped into the cell, pulled him up by the arm and shoved him out the door.

"No time for talkin', we've gotta get outta here before the guards find us!" He started running again, checking to make sure the others were behind him. Surprisingly, they saw no guards at all in any of the maze of corridors that made up the dungeons.

"Almost there!" Lucy panted, spotting the door to the courtyard. They were almost out… almost there… just a bit more...

Natsu stopped again, this time so suddenly that both Lucy and Gray slammed into him. Peering around him, Lucy saw a horrific sight.

"Oh, no…"

The courtyard was filled with guardsmen, and at the front was her father, disapproval written across every feature.

"I figured you might try something like this, Lucy, though I had hoped…" He shook his head, speechless.

"We have you surrounded." It was Lahar, head of the guardsmen of the castle. "Don't try anything."

"Too late! We're trying things!" Natsu shouted, punching a nearby guard in the jaw. Before anyone had a chance to subdue him, he had grabbed the soldier's sword and, to everyone's utter astonishment, held it to Lucy's throat.

"Open the gate!" he yelled, clutching Lucy's arm tightly. "Open it now, or else!" Lucy closed her eyes. How could she have been so stupid? Had she really thought he was trustworthy? She felt cold steel press harder against her neck… but if she wasn't mistaken… that was...

Her eyes flew open. Was she imagining it? She glanced to the side, seeing Natsu's face set in a determined look. He certainly looked serious. But he tilted his head closer to hers, pink hair mingling with blond, and she heard him whisper so quietly it was barely louder than a breath of wind:

" _It's okay._ "

Lucy felt the corner of her mouth twitch; she tried not to smile. She was right after all. Natsu was pressing the flat of the blade against her throat.

Boy, did this guy know how to bluff.

"He's got the princess!" Lahar called. "Do as he says!" A set of guardsmen immediately began to heave open the heavy gate with the winch that controlled it. Natsu backed toward the gate, pulling Lucy along with him, Gray and Happy a step behind him. Slowly, the great wooden doors of the courtyard began to inch open. They were almost wide enough to pass through when-

"Not so fast!" It all happened in an instant. Doranbolt, dagger in hand, teleported to just behind Gray and performed the same maneuver Natsu had done with Lucy, only he wasn't using the flat of the blade. Natsu stopped moving.

"Let her go, now. Or I'll kill this one." A thin trickle of blood ran down the dagger he was holding to Gray's throat.

"Don't do it!" Gray sputtered. "At least one of us has to make it outta here alive, or this whole thing's pointless!"

"Hey, what's up with this cat?!" Another soldier had grabbed Happy and was trying to avoid the cat's flailing claws. Lucy felt the sword quiver; she looked back at Natsu. He was grinding his teeth, a sheen of sweat on his brow. Suddenly his expression changed to one of surprise.

"G… Gray…?" he breathed. "Why do I… why do I know that name… why do I know his voice…?" The blade slackened in his grip. Lucy looked back anxiously. The gates were closing. There was no time…

"Natsu!" she cried, trying to alert him. But his gaze seemed distant, and even as Lucy watched, horrified, the sword fell from his hands. The guards, free of the fear of any harm coming to their princess, rushed forth with a jubilant cry. Lucy looked back at Gray and Happy.

"I'm sorry-!" She grabbed Natsu's arm and pulled him through the gateway just as it closed. Her dress got caught in it, but she tore it free without a thought. Natsu seemed to snap back to reality at the sound of the gate closing.

"But what about Gray and Happy?" he yelled as Lucy dragged him across the open plain before the forest.

"We can't go back! We just have to leave them for now!"

"No! We have to rescue them!"

"We can, but not now! The city will be on high alert thanks to that, so we need to come back when they aren't expecting it!" They were almost to the treeline now. "Why did you bring Gray along with us, anyway? Do you know him?"

"Yes! No! I don't know! It's really confusing!" Lucy sighed in relief as they reached the cover of the forest. "It's like there's this fog inside my brain… my memory is all muddled. In fact, the first thing I can remember clearly is waking up in that cell…" He ran a hand through his hair. "Now that I think about it, I ought to be able to remember more than that, 'cos I was about eleven then…"

"Seven years…" Lucy shook her head. "I don't know how you survived."

"Sometimes, I don't think I did."

Please review! And don't critique my plot holes, they are all supposed to be there and I will fill them in later (I hope)!


	4. III: An Aimless Fire

Okay, you guys have **Compucles** to thank for this update. I was like, "Okay, one more review, then I'll update!" And I looked down and there was **Compucles** , totally knowing what was going to happen in my story!

To **GxSBB:** Thanks! *blush*

To **Rose Tiger:** I actually have the whole thing written out, I'm just going back through and making edits.

To **Bitch Ate My Cupcake:** Thank you, and nice name by the way, made me laugh!

To **Compucles:** Are you psychic? Now I need to change some things so you guys don't know what happens next! :)

Chapter III: An Aimless Fire

" _Where… where am I?" The boy looked around the room. It had no windows and no doors, and no furnishings save a pile of blankets in the corner. "How did I get here?" No one answered him. The boy listened hard, but he could hear nothing._

 _Putting a hand to his head, the boy winced. It really hurt for some reason. He wondered what he had been doing to cause this pain… and then he realised with a jolt, he didn't know what he had been doing. In fact, he didn't remember anything. Truly frightened now, the boy tried to recall something, anything. But it was as if his mind had been wiped clean._

 _He didn't even remember his own name._

 _The boy yelled until his voice was hoarse, but no one came. He eventually kicked at the stone wall in frustration, but that only resulted in him hurting his foot. So he sat, and waited for something to happen._

 _He awoke to a clattering noise. The boy jumped to his feet, searching for the source of the sound. There was a piece of old bread and a metal jug with water half-spilled beside a small opening in the wall. The boy ran to the hole, to see who had dropped the food in, but all he could see was a dark figure walking away._

 _Day after day, it was essentially the same. Sitting, waiting for something to happen. Trying to glimpse the person who provided the meager food, but always failing. The boy wasn't satisfied with these portions of food; he was always hungry. He got the feeling he used to eat more than this._

 _Then one day, the figure spoke._

" _Sorry I can't give you more than this," it said pityingly. "You look pretty hungry, but this is all there is." It started to walk away again._

" _Wait!" cried the boy. "Who are you? Who… who am I? Do you know?" The figure stopped._

" _My name's Doranbolt," it said. "And as for who you are, I'm afraid I don't know." Then the boy was alone again, still without a name, still without his memory, but maybe with a friend?_

oOo

 _Days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into months. Months turned into years. The boy began to lose track of how long he had been here. He kept a tally on the wall, but sometimes he would forget to mark a day off, so it wasn't precise. Every day dripped with similarity. The boy thought he would go mad with boredom._

 _But one day, something unexpected happened. About a year after his memory loss, the boy was sitting in the cell, trying to re-count the cracks in the ceiling to see if his previous counts were right. A sound made him look down. In the cell beside him sat a bright blue kitten that certainly hadn't been there before._

" _Uh… hello?" the boy asked uncertainly._

" _Aye!" the kitten squeaked. The boy recoiled; he'd never heard a cat talk before. At least, not since he'd been here, but since then he'd only heard the guards talking. The boy edged closer to the feline._

" _You look so happy… where did you come from?"_

" _Aye!" The boy giggled. He hadn't done that in a while. It felt nice._

" _I'll call you Happy, then. Since you're so happy."_

" _Aye!"_

 _Happy often returned to the cell, sometimes with fish for the boy, which he always devoured whether it was cooked or raw (which it often was). The kitten grew into a cat, and his vocabulary expanded quite a bit from 'aye'. The boy taught him all the words he knew, which admittedly wasn't a lot._

 _Eventually, Happy wanted to know what he ought to call the boy. He tried to explain to the cat that he didn't really have a name, but Happy was persistent. The boy told him that the guards liked to call him Salamander._

" _Why's that?" asked the feline._

"' _Cos I can do this!" The boy stood up and blew a plume of fire into the air. Happy giggled and clapped his paws together._

" _I know! I'll call you Natsu!"_

" _Huh? Why's that?"_

"' _Cos you're like the summer! Your hair is pink like the flowers that bloom in the courtyard in summer!"_

" _Natsu, huh… I like it…" The sound of that name stirred something inside him. A memory, perhaps? The boy didn't know. What he did know, however, was that however alone he might be, this name would keep him company. This name made him happy._

 _Looking down at the cat, Natsu thought he was aptly named. Both of them were._

oOo

Lucy had trouble sleeping that night. The ground was extremely bumpy, and it made her sore all over. Besides that, there were the sounds of the wild animals that lived in this forest. She hoped the fire would keep them at bay.

At first, Lucy had been worried about the fire going out while they were asleep, but Natsu's flames kept burning with the same heat as when he had first lit them. Obviously it was no ordinary fire. She sighed softly and rolled over again.

"Gray…" Lucy sat straight up. Was Natsu awake as well? He had been out like a light from the moment they'd made camp. But no, she saw, he was still asleep. He must be dreaming.

"Don't… don't hurt her… please…" He looked agitated. Lucy wondered who this 'her' was. Was he having a nightmare? Perhaps it was a memory? But of what? "She's not… me…" Lucy frowned. What on earth did that mean?

"Ow!" Lucy yelped. Something had burned her. She felt around in the bag resting against her side and pulled out a golden key. Lucy had forgotten she had it. She quickly dropped it, though; it was white-hot. The key started to pulse with light. She bent over it, intrigued, and without thinking, touched the eye of the intricately carved dragon.

Quite suddenly, Lucy found herself somewhere else entirely. It looked like a palace, but not the one she'd grown up in. It also looked like there was a battle going on.

"Gray! Behind you!" She turned at the voice. Two children were fighting off three soldiers… and they were winning! But, as Lucy looked closer, she saw that they looked very familiar…

"Who are these guys?" questioned a boy with pink hair. Lucy stared at him. Surely he couldn't be…? "What do they want?"

"I dunno," replied the other. _He looks just like Gray,_ thought Lucy, _only younger. What's going on here?_ Gray suddenly called out, "Prince-!" Lucy clapped her hands over her mouth. Prince? There was no way…

A red-haired girl in armour, who looked like she was about twelve years old, swept into the room and grabbed Natsu's shoulder. She looked like… _Captain Erza?_

Erza held her sword to his throat, her eyes flashing.

"Natsu!" Lucy cried, but no-one even glanced at her. It was as though she were invisible.

"Wha- she's just a kid!" Gray gasped.

"Where is Lord Igneel?" Erza asked. "Tell me, or I'll kill him." Natsu gagged as the sword pressed closer.

"Like hell you will!" he managed, kicking her hard. She flinched but didn't react. A soldier burst into the room and whispered something inaudible in Erza's ear. As she began to drag Natsu out the door, another soldier came up behind Gray and knocked him out cold.

"Gray!" yelled Natsu. Lucy ran to follow them into the corridor. What was going to happen? "What do you want with my father?" Natsu shouted.

"Nothing, anymore. It appears he's been killed." Erza smirked. "This battle's over."

"No…" Natsu stopped struggling for a moment. "Dad…?"

"Which means you are the pillar of hope for the people of this kingdom." Erza threw him onto the stone floor and raised her sword. "Prepare to die, Natsu Dragneel." Tears ran down the prince's face. It looked as though he couldn't move. Erza's sword came down in a flash of steel, straight towards Natsu's heart.

Lucy screamed, shutting her eyes tightly. When she opened them, she found herself looking into a pair of startled onyx eyes, back in the forest.

"Lucy? Are you okay?" She fell onto her hands and knees, shaking. Natsu looked like he didn't quite know what to do.

"Is that what you were dreaming about…?" whispered Lucy.

"Huh? What're you talking about?"

"I saw it! I saw you! Why didn't you tell me?!" Lucy was shouting now. Natsu drew back, eyes wide.

"Tell you what?" He sounded so confused and frightened. Lucy cursed herself for yelling at him.

"I think I saw what you were dreaming about."

"What?" He furrowed his brow. "I don't think I was dreaming 'bout anything.. least not that I can remember…"

"You… don't remember?" Lucy paused.

 _It's like there's this fog inside my brain… my memory is all muddled. In fact, the first thing I can remember clearly is waking up in that cell…_

Could it be possible? Lucy looked down at the key, twinkling innocently in the firelight. She picked it up. It was no longer burning hot.

"Here… take this," she said, holding it out to Natsu. Rather uncertainly, he stretched out a hand and touched it. His eyes grew huge and he leaped back with a shout, shaking his hand.

"It burned me-!" Nursing his hand, he looked up at Lucy. "What is that?"

"I don't know. It doesn't feel hot to me." She turned it over. "It was earlier, though."

"It's been a long time since anything's been able to burn me… there must be some kind of magic in that thing." He eyed it warily. "It made my head hurt, too."

"What? It didn't do that to me." Lucy breathed out loudly. "You know, I think we can probably worry about this tomorrow… I'm so tired…"

"Okay."

Lucy tried to put the key out of her mind. It was surprisingly easy. In fact, the more she tried to remember the dream, the drowsier she got… didn't something important happen? Something… Oh, she would remember tomorrow. But as Lucy fell into the darkness of sleep, she forgot.

oOo

Natsu woke up, for the second time, because of Lucy. He had been really comfortable, and deeply asleep, when he heard Lucy make a strangled sort of yelp. His eyes flew open and had trouble focusing for a second. When they did, he realised Lucy's face was about an inch from his own. He pulled back from her, flushing bright red.

"Sorry!" How had that happened? When he'd fallen asleep, they had been on opposite sides of the fire. How embarrassing…

"Just… don't… do that," stuttered Lucy. "Geez, I wondered why I felt so warm last night…" Natsu looked away.

"Uh… we should get moving," he said, changing the subject. "We don't wanna be caught by your dad's army."

"Okay," Lucy said, standing up. "Lead the way."

"Me? But… I don't know where we're going! This is the first time I've even been in a forest before!" He frowned. "But… somehow I know what it is…" The scream echoed in his head and he put the thought out of his mind.

"Mm… let's go… this way," decided Lucy, pointing in a random direction. "It doesn't really matter as long as it's away from my father."

They started walking. The forest was quite pretty in the sunlight, with leaves making strange patterns in the sunlight. Natsu was intrigued by the sun; again, he knew what it was somehow, but after seven years spent in a dark cell, the sun was quite impressive.

Soon, after they had been walking for a while, he heard something. It was a bit like an explosion, but it kept repeating and was punctuated by screams and the ring of steel. He knew immediately what it was, for he had heard it before, though he didn't know where.

It was the sound of battle.

"Do you hear that?" he asked, stopping for a moment.

"Hm? What? I don't hear anything."

"Hold on, let's get closer." Natsu took off up the slope ahead of them, Lucy trailing close behind. When he reached the top, the trees stopped quite suddenly and the land opened out into a wide valley. And in the valley, there were indeed people fighting. Natsu could hear individual voices calling out at this point, and the sound of steel on steel combined with the explosions of magic colliding was overwhelming.

"Yeah, I can hear it now," Lucy commented. "It must be some of my father's troops fighting the soldiers of Atlas Flame."

"It's _loud_ ," Natsu complained, covering his ears. "If we get any closer I think my ears will explode."

"Don't be ridiculous, it's much too far away for…" She trailed off. "Hold on, how good is your hearing?"

"I can hear the commanders giving troops orders… can't you hear?"

"No! You must have really excellent ears!" She gave him a look he couldn't quite decipher. "Anyway, we can't go this way."

"So we'll have to go around-" Natsu didn't get a chance to finish the statement, as something struck him hard in the back of the head and he blacked out.

oOo

When Natsu woke, he couldn't see anything. For a moment, he feared that the blow had made him go blind. Then he realised he was blindfolded. He tried to move, but he was tied to something.

"Lucy…?" he called. There was no response, but he thought he felt something shift behind him. He could definitely smell her. He could smell someone else, too… someone whose scent he knew from somewhere…

"So you're awake," said a voice.

"Who are you? Where's Lucy?"

"My name is Erza Scarlet, and I know exactly who you are, Salamander." She paused. "What was the princess doing with you…?"

"Natsu?" It was Lucy's voice, without a question. "Who… Captain Erza?!" Natsu felt more movement behind him and realised he was tied to Lucy. "What's going on?!"

"I don't know! I can't see anything!"

"Shut up, the pair of you!" Though he couldn't see it, Natsu heard clearly the sound of a sword being drawn. Then he felt the swish of air as it was pointed at him. "Care to tell me why the heir to the throne of Heartfillia would be out in the middle of the woods, on the edge of a battlefield, with an escaped convict?"

"Uh, it's a long story," tried Lucy.

"Captain!" came a voice from somewhere. Erza sheathed the sword, by the sound of it, and stepped closer.

"I'll come back later," she stated, and her footsteps grew more distant as she left.

"Natsu," whispered Lucy. "I think I found a weak point in the rope. It's all frayed. Maybe I can…" The rope slackened. "Got it!"

"My hands are still tied, though."

"Yeah, mine too. But I think we can slip out the back of this tent. Do you think you can follow without sight?"

"I can smell ya just fine. Lead the way."

"Smell me…?" Lucy cut off whatever she'd been about to say and slipped under the back of the tent. Natsu followed carefully, using sound and smell to guide him. When they got outside, they started running.

Natsu found Lucy's scent easy to follow. She smelled really sweet, like… he didn't know what, exactly. Or couldn't remember. They'd been running for about ten minutes when Lucy stopped suddenly. Natsu, not being able to see where he was going, ran straight into her.

"Ow! What…?"

"I think we're safe," Lucy panted. "I need a rest. And now I can try to at least get that blindfold off of you."

"Why didn't they blindfold you?"

"Because I'm the princess." She sounded slightly haughty.

"So what you're sayin' is, they shoulda gagged you instead."

"Shut up-!" They both chuckled. Lucy made to pull off the cloth covering Natsu's eyes, but with the combination of having her hands tied and the strength of the knot, it wouldn't budge.

"Come to think of it, why can't you just use your fire magic to burn the ropes?"

"I used up what little power I had during the escape."

"Oh. Maybe we should try to find a village or something, and ask somebody for help," Lucy proposed.

"Well, about that…"

"You're right, that's stupid. What are the chances of finding a village when we don't even know where we are?"

"No, I was gonna say there's one a few miles away. I can hear people in the marketplace." He tilted his head to better receive the sound. "Since I can't see, my hearing's a whole lot better than usual."

"You can hear something that's miles away?! Sheesh, you're like a dog!" Lucy giggled. "Go ahead and show me the way, Nosewise."

"Don't call me that."

oOo

"Thanks for helping us," Lucy said graciously as Natsu gobbled all the food. "What was your name again?"

"It's Makarov. Nice to meet you," replied the old man. "Mind telling me how you got yourselves in such a fix?"

"It just seems to be our luck at this point," Lucy sighed. "Which kingdom is this village in, anyway?"

"Ah, this village lies in neither kingdom." Makarov smiled. "And in both."

"What does that mean?"

"The town is built on the ruins of the ancient Nirvit civilisation, and we seem to have inherited their peace-loving ways. We're located on the border between kingdoms, but count ourselves as a part of neither. We never take sides in the war, and all are welcome here regardless of their past in either kingdom. Here you can begin again with a clean slate, and no one asks questions one would be unwilling to answer."

"Wow, I'd never even heard of this place before."

"Both kingdoms hold great contempt for us." Makarov turned to Natsu and passed him more food. Lucy was extremely grateful, as she had been worried he might eat the table next. "So, where are you headed? Anywhere in particular?"

"Um, I guess we hadn't really thought about it." Lucy thought for a moment. _Maybe we can join Atlas Flame's resistance to rescue Happy and Gray?_ "How close is the capital of the Dragneel kingdom?"

"Just east through the forest, on the other side of Mount Hakobe. This time of year, though, the snow will be pretty harsh. And there's the Vulkans."

"We can handle a few Vulkans!" exclaimed Natsu around his food. "Um… what are Vulkans?"

"Imagine huge, white snow monkeys with big teeth and no manners."

"Oh. Well, we can still take 'em." Makarov chuckled at this.

"I like your fighting spirit, kid. Almost reminds me of…" His face grew terribly sad for a fraction of a second, but the smile returned so quickly that Lucy thought she had imagined it. "Well, never mind that. I'd best get some more food for your friend there."

As he left, Lucy wondered why he had looked so sad. She had seen that look before, oh yes, she had seen that look every time she looked in the mirror. The old man missed someone, so badly that it felt like a piece of his soul had been ripped out.

Like Lucy and her mother, the old man had lost someone important to him. She blinked in surprise as she realised she had seen that expression on someone else, too… Natsu. But with no memory of his past, why was he so sad…?

Lucy sighed. "When all this is over, I'm going to make it into a book."

"Like a fairy tale?" Makarov commented, reentering the room.

"Huh? Do fairies have tails?" Natsu asked. Makarov chuckled again.

"You know, I suppose they might. Nobody really knows, because nobody's ever seen one. Maybe if those kingdoms will stop their ridiculous fighting, they could send out an adventurer to find the place where fairies live, to see if they have tails or not."

"Maybe I'll be that adventurer!" Natsu exclaimed happily.

"Maybe you will."

oOo

Gray shivered, but not from the cold. He _knew_ he had seen that face somewhere before. Quite where it had been, he had no clue. But after a week in this dingy cell, he had little else to think about.

As soon as he had broken down the door and pulled Gray out into the corridor, he had felt… something about him, a feeling he didn't quite know how to describe. It was like he knew the guy, though he had never seen him before. It was this feeling that led Gray to follow him out into the courtyard.

Geez, he'd never even asked his name. Just who was this Salamander? Why had he tried to help him? Why had he abandoned him here after going to the trouble of breaking him out? Was he planning a rescue? Gray groaned and put his head in his hands.

More importantly, how had he known Gray's name?

" _G… Gray…? Why do I… why do I know that name… why do I know his voice…?"_ The Salamander's voice came back to him. He had looked so anguished, like he was desperately reaching out for a memory that was slipping away. Maybe he had amnesia, though Gray didn't recall ever meeting him. How long had he been imprisoned, anyway?

Gray's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of water dripping. He looked up. Where was that sound coming from? It almost sounded like rain…

"Drip, drip, drop. Juvia is a rain woman."

Oh, yeah, forgot the disclaimer. :P I hope no lawyers are reading this! Yeah, I don't own Fairy Tail, I only own the urge to punch Hiro Mashima in the face sometimes for his cliffhangers... But I'm certainly not one to talk! Mwa ha ha! Please review. If you review I won't make the cliffhangers as bad... probably. :)


	5. IV: To Unlock the Heart and Mind

25 favs? Woo-hoo! 47 follows? Sweet! 14 reviews...? You guys can do better than that! I need reviewsssss! They are my sustenance!

To Guest: Here ya go! *throws update into computer*

To **Rose Tiger** : Sorry, but there is only one more chapter after this... *hides behind Natsu*

To **Textrian** : Yes! Juvia's unrequited love is what frees Gray!

To **Si-chanwantdragon** : FINALLY! SOMEONE APPRECIATES MY FLAWLESS GRAMMAR! *wink*

To WOW: I'm sorry you feel that way. But can you please give me some feedback so I can make it less horrible? If I don't know what I did wrong, I can't change it for the better! :)

Chapter IV: To Unlock the Heart and Mind

"Wow… so this is the royal city of Dragneel, huh?" Lucy inhaled sharply. It was so different to the castle she had grown up in. Even though there was a war going on, everyone seemed so… happy.

"Yeah," Natsu responded, running a hand through his hair. Lucy frowned; over the past week, she'd figured out that whenever he did that, it meant he had a headache.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine," he answered, voice hoarse. "It's nothing." They kept walking. People kept shooting them strange glances; weirdly, they seemed to glimpse the pair out of the corner of their eye, turn wildly and gape at them in shock, then resignation crept over their features and they walked on, slightly embarrassed-looking, shaking their heads.

"They're looking at us," Lucy whispered. "I wonder why?" Thunder boomed overhead. She looked up just as a torrent of rain began to fall to the ground. "Maybe we should look for some shelter…" Lucy stopped short, surprised, as she felt Natsu's hand slip from her own.

"L-Lucy…" She turned just in time to catch him as he toppled over.

"Natsu-!" He let out a hiss of pain but didn't respond. Lucy hurriedly dragged him into the shelter of a nearby archway, wondering what on earth had happened to him. Maybe it had been more than just a headache…

The door in the arch, strangely, was unlocked. With little choice left at this point, Lucy pushed it open, revealing a set of stone steps leading downward. Straining, she pulled the unconscious Natsu inside.

Luckily, the steps weren't very long. At the bottom, Lucy found a lantern with a lacrima inside it. She picked it up, leaning Natsu against the wall, and stepped into the darkness. The lacrimalight illuminated something she definitely hadn't expected to see.

"This is…" Before her was an array of stone boxes, tens of thousands vanishing into the darkness at the edges of the room. And on each was a statue, lying horizontally across the lids.

"...a tomb?!" She stepped forward, reading the plaques. "'Igneel Dragneel, X746 - X777'… This must be where all the previous kings were laid to rest." She stepped over to the one next to it. "'Natsu Dragneel, X766 - X777…' but… that's…" Lucy stared at the statue. "It looks like…" The key in her bag began to glow, pulsing with heat. She could feel it growing hotter and hotter and…

As she collapsed, she didn't even feel herself being caught by a pair of iron-clad arms.

oOo

"Wait… why is he… stripping…?!" Juvia's heart beat furiously in her chest. Who was this man? Why had she been assigned to guard him, of all people? Was it fate? "What am I feeling… is this love?"

"Uh, who are you exactly?" He sounded confused. Juvia stared at him with wide eyes through the small, barred window in the cell. This man was… amazing…

"Juvia is a royal guard, but Juvia never expected to find herself guarding someone such as this!" She nervously fiddled with her hair. "What is Juvia to do…?"

"Okay, then…" He leaned back against the cell wall. "Say, you haven't seen a little blue cat anywhere around, have you?"

"N-no."

"Oh, well. Worth a try. My name's Gray, by the way. Just so you know."

"Gray…" Juvia repeated. Her face was on fire. "Gray."

"If you do see a little blue cat, couldja let me know?"

"O-okay!" For some reason, Juvia felt compelled to go and search for this oddly coloured feline at once. What was wrong with her? Why did this Gray make her feel so strange…?

The afternoon found Juvia scouring the Heartfillia castle for any sign of a small blue cat. She had searched most places, except for the war council room. Hesitantly, she stepped inside, looking about for anyone who might see her. Technically, there was no rule to say she should not be here, but it was better to be careful all the same.

"Nyaaaa!" A distressed yowl shattered the silence. Juvia hurried over to a tarp-covered box in the corner and lifted a corner. Underneath was a cage, and inside the cage was a blue-furred cat.

"My beloved Gray, Juvia has found what you are looking for!"

oOo

The first thing that Natsu noticed when he woke up was that he was lying somewhere soft. That was unusual. He opened his eyes to find himself in a room he didn't remember seeing before. How had he gotten here? And where was Lucy?

He got out of the bed and walked over to the door. It wasn't locked. Natsu put out a hand to open it, but it flew open of its own accord before he had even touched it. On the other side of the door stood a man in a guard's outfit, with long straggly black hair and a mean look about him.

"So, you're awake," he commented in a rasping voice. "The king wants ta see ya."

"Me?" Natsu asked nervously. "Uh… where's Lucy?"

"The girlie's still sleeping, so shut up and follow me." He started off down the hall. "Name's Gajeel, by the way." The journey was short and silent, with neither finding anything to talk about. Soon they had reached a set of intricately patterned doors, presumably leading to the throne room. Gajeel pushed them open and stepped to the side, leaving full view of the room beyond.

In a throne at the other side of the room sat a man. He was looking down, his face in shadow. Something about him made him seem so… sad, perhaps. Yes, that was it. He seemed incredibly sad. Natsu glanced back at Gajeel, then began the walk down the red and gold rug that ran the length of the room. It seemed to take years. When he had finally reached the foot of the throne, Natsu kneeled, because it felt like the proper thing to do, and looked up.

"Who are you?" asked the man in the throne. "What are you doing here?" He stood up, shaking. "How… how are you here?" Emotion laced the king's voice.

"I… I don't know," Natsu fumbled. "I…" He blinked, staring up at the king's face. Something seemed to click in his mind. "I know you… don't I?" His head throbbed with pain but he fought it this time, trying to remember.

"Natsu…"

" _Natsu…"_

His eyes brightened.

"Uncle?"

oOo

Lucy woke up because something felt hot against her side. She groped around for the offending object and her hand closed around the key.

The key!

Lucy sat straight up in bed. As she watched, the jewel that was the dragon's eye cracked. The key flashed brilliantly, then stopped shining. She blinked. All of a sudden, she remembered what she had seen under the castle. That grave… the statue had looked just like Natsu!

And wait, wasn't there something else? Hazily, she could remember a dream she had had back in the forest… Her eyes widened and she jumped out of bed, running to the door and flinging it open. A small girl with blue hair turned, startled.

"Lady Lucy! You're awake!"

"Where's Natsu?"

"Follow me." Lucy trailed after the girl, mind racing, not really paying attention to where she was being led, until suddenly the girl stopped. Lucy looked up. And gasped.

There was a large, grand-looking throne, but that's not what interested her, for its occupant had stood up. He was dressed in the robes of kings, and Lucy assumed he must be Atlas Flame. But that's not why she had gasped.

Because he was hugging Natsu.

"N-Natsu?" Lucy stammered, at a loss.

"Lucy!" Natsu looked up, and his eyes seemed so much lighter than before. Lucy was taken aback. He broke from the king's embrace and tackled her.

"Gah! What… what's happening?"

"I got some of my memory back!" Natsu grinned.

"You… did?" Lucy pulled out the key. "I think I found out what caused your memory loss in the first place… this key is infused with memory modification magic! That's what caused all those headaches when you were trying to remember something, and I'll bet that's why you collapsed when we got here! This place must hold a lot of memories for you. And back in the forest, I must have activated it by accident, so I got a glimpse of your memories, but then the key's magic extended to me!"

"I have no idea what all that means." Natsu said promptly. Lucy giggled.

"It means, I can restore all of your memory with this." Natsu gaped at her.

"You mean it?"

"Yeah!"

"Uncle, did you hear that?" Natsu turned back to the king. Lucy felt a jolt. _Uncle?_

A dark thought crept into Lucy's head. What if she restored his memory, and he remember that he hated her? If he remembered that her own father had imprisoned him for seven years and killed who knows how many of his loved ones, and he could never forgive her? Maybe… maybe she shouldn't restore his memory…

Before she could have any more second thoughts, she grabbed Natsu's hand and touched the cracked eye of the dragon.

"Woah… is this my memory?" asked Natsu. They were standing in the same room Lucy remembered from before. She watched the same events unfold with the same tense anxiety as the last time. Heart in her mouth, she looked on as Erza raised her sword over the young prince's heart.

"Prepare to die, Natsu Dragneel." The sword came down, flashing in the torchlight. And stopped. An inch from his chest, the blade hung in the air for a moment, and then was sheathed. "Show yourself," Erza called into the darkness. And out stepped the last person anyone had expected to see.

"It's… it's me!" the young prince breathed, stunned.

"I'm the real prince! Let him go!" shouted the boy with the exact same face as the prince. "I'm Natsu Dragneel!"

"I don't think so," Erza snarled, and in a flash her sword was out again, slicing the boy's shoulder. He cried out, and for a fraction of a moment, the image flickered, revealing the white-haired girl underneath.

"Lisanna!" yelled the young prince. "What are you doing?! Are you insane?! Just let them take me, please!"

"No," the girl panted, standing up straight. "I'm the real one! Take me instead!"

"Your transformation magic has failed you," Erza growled. "I see right through it." And it was all over in a matter of seconds. Erza's blade passed right through the girl's heart, and she fell without a sound.

"NO!" screamed the prince. "LISANNA!"

"She retained the spell even in death," Erza stated, looking down at the still form. "How noble." She smirked. "How foolish."

Lucy looked back at Natsu, speechless. He, too, seemed transfixed, ignorant of the tears streaming down his cheeks.

Review! Before I finish writing this thing and your chance will be gone!


	6. V: I'm not Ready

Sorry I'm late... and... Last chapter! *cries* But if I tried to stretch this out, it wouldn't be as good... So I'll have to stick with short stories. :P Prepare for major feels!

To **:** Hope you like! My FMA fic should be up within a week or two!

To **Rose Tiger:** I know... I like Erza, so that was hard to write... but don't worry! She's actually nice!

To **Si-chanwantdragon:** Thank you so much! *blush* You're too kind!

To **cookie panda-roo:** Well, Lucy was not looking too princess-y when she got out of the woods. :)

To **Textrian:** No matter which Erza it is, she's always extremely loyal to her superiors... whether they're good or bad.

To Guest: I didn't think of that... oh well...

To Guest: Thanks! Here ya go!

Chapter V: I'm Not Ready

"So I guess you buried her thinking she was me," Natsu finished relaying the story to Atlas Flame, "and Erza took me back to the Heartfillia castle and wiped my memory."

"I can't believe it," the kings said quietly. "You were alive all this time? A prisoner in that monster Jude's dungeons?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Natsu grinned, rubbing the back of his neck. Though he smiled outwardly, he could still feel the sorrow inside him, burning him more than fire ever could. He opened his mouth to say something else, but never got the chance. His mouth fell open as he heard a voice he'd thought was far away from here.

"Natsu-!" Lucy called after him as he sprinted off down the corridor. Not really paying attention to where he was going, he ran all the way down to the courtyard, where he slammed right into the source of the voice he'd heard.

"Happy!"

"Natsuuuuuuuu~!" The blue cat was so ecstatic that he started flying around in circles overhead.

"Wait, since when does that cat have _wings_?" came Lucy's voice from behind Natsu.

"Well, he told me he could fly, but I rarely saw him do it," Natsu explained. "When he was little, he did it more."

"I found Natsuuuuuuu~! I found Naaaaaaatsu~!" Happy yelled, overcome.

"How'd you escape?"

"With great skill!"

"Yeah, right," another voice interjected. "You mean, 'with a little help from Gray and Juvia'." Two figures stepped into the courtyard.

"Gray?! Wait… who's she?" Natsu indicated the girl beside him.

"This is Juvia. She helped me escape."

"Juvia would do anything to help her beloved Gray!" Juvia said passionately.

"Okay, then." Atlas Flame entered the courtyard, and Gray instantly kneeled. Juvia looked slightly confused, but she kneeled as well.

"My lord," he addressed the king. "I didn't complete my mission."

"That's alright. I feared you would not be able to when I assigned you that mission."

"What…?"

"But, having met Lady Lucy Heartfillia, I am glad that you failed." smiled the king. "She will make an excellent queen once all this fighting has died down." Atlas Flame looked at Natsu. "And I think I shall have to give up the throne as well, for now that the true heir has been found, I have no claim to it."

"Me?!" Natsu exclaimed.

"Him?!" everyone else shouted in unison.

"But… I'm not ready…!" Natsu was cut off by a page running into the courtyard, out of breath and deathly pale, like on that bloody night seven years ago.

"Enemy at the gates!"

"No way…" said Lucy breathlessly.

"Let's go," growled Natsu, and before anyone could utter a word, he was sprinting toward the city gates.

Lucy, Gray, Juvia and Happy had no choice but to follow, but to their surprise, they found themselves accompanied by Atlas Flame himself.

"Sire," Gray asked carefully, "Shouldn't you stay in the castle? It's dangerous…"

"If my elder brother could fight as king, then so shall I." Lucy gave him a small smile.

Then they entered the fray.

Natsu grabbed the hilt of a sword sticking out of- he didn't pause to think about it- and blocked an attack from an enemy soldier. The next strike, however, passed inches from the side of his face and embedded the blade in the wall behind him. Natsu yelped.

"Hey… uh… I just remembered… that I have no idea how to use this thing!" He waved the sword in front of him, barely managing to parry a blow from his opponent.

"Fighting is in your blood, Natsu," replied Atlas Flame, taking out five men at once with a blast of fire magic. "Though your mind may have forgotten, your heart will always remember." Natsu grinned. He jumped back into the battle, not even noticing that he'd activated his magic. Flames ran up the blade of his sword, just like on the statue in the tomb, as he cut down enemy after enemy.

"Wait, why am I even here?!" screeched Lucy, ducking a mace attack. "I can't fight!"

"Ever tried?" Gray shot back. Lucy glared at him and hefted the nearest weapon she could find: a javelin.

"Here goes nothing-!" She thrust the javelin at her attacker and felt it connect. He fell with a grunt. "Woo! I did it!"

"HOW DARE YOU THREATEN JUVIA'S BELOVED GRAY?!" Juvia raged, using water magic to daze anyone who came close.

"Ice make: Lance!" shouted Gray, felling four more soldiers.

"Can't catch me!" Happy giggled blithely, zooming just above the heads of the enemy troops.

"Stupid cat!" one shouted. "Why is it flying?!" He jabbed at Happy with his spear, but ended up tripping over himself and falling face-first on the ground.

"You oughta be more careful, cat," rasped Gajeel. "Though I doubt these suckers are smart enough to catch ya anyway!" His arm turned into a sword, scaring the attackers to pieces. "Gihi!"

"Woah! You can understand Happy too?" Natsu yelled across the battlefield.

"Well, yeah. All those descended from dragons have that power. Hey, let's finish these wimps off! Breath attack!" He started to suck in air.

"Alright! Fire dragon…"

"Iron dragon…"

"ROAR!"

oOo

"Whoops," panted Natsu, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "That did a bit more damage than I expected."

"Whatever. We beat 'em." countered Gajeel.

"Where's my uncle?" wondered Natsu, scouring the desolation. He spotted a group of people running up.

"That was amazing!" Lucy called, tackling Natsu with a giant bear hug.

"Impressive," ceded Gray.

"Natsu the Salamander does it again!" cheered Happy.

"Hey, you guys seen my uncle? I haven't heard from him since the fight started."

"No," Lucy said anxiously. "Let's look for him." Gajeel went back over to Atlas Flame's troops, presumably telling them to join the search. Meanwhile, the small group split up in search of the king.

Natsu hadn't been searching long when caught Atlas Flame's familiar scent. He followed it over to a heap of rubble strewn with unmoving enemies. Slightly frightened of what he might find, he shifted the rubble to see what was underneath.

"U-Uncle…?" he whispered, almost forgetting to breathe. For it was indeed the king, face pale, eyes closed. "No… this is not happening… please tell me you aren't…!"

"Natsu." Atlas Flame's eyes opened a sliver. Natsu smiled widely, but the grin died on his face when the king shifted and revealed his wounds.

"Listen, we gotta get you to Porlyusica-!"

"No. It's too late for me, Natsu." He stared at his uncle, shocked.

"What are you sayin'...?"

"You're so much like your father… I couldn't be more proud. I know you'll make a great king, Natsu."

"No! I told you before, I'm… I'm not ready yet!"

"You've been ready your whole life." Atlas Flame closed his eyes. "You just didn't remember."

"Shut up! You're not dyin' on me!"

"Such spirit. Maybe you can stop all this infernal fighting… you have more reason to than anyone else…"

"Uncle!"

"Go ahead and be a great king, Natsu. Just… like your… father…"

"UNCLE!"

And so, on that second bloody night seven years after the first, the last surviving member of the dynasty of Dragneel clung to his uncle's still form and wept.

oOo

Natsu stood on the hill, the wind blowing his cloak around him. Lucy and Gray stood behind him, on either side so they formed a triangle. All three were searching the vast horizon for movement.

Then, on the rise a few miles ahead of them, a black speck appeared. It moved slowly forward, followed by more specks. Natsu waited for what seemed like an eternity for them to mount the hill just before him.

A figure stepped over the ridge. It hesitated for a moment, then walked down into the shallow valley between the two slopes. It was followed by a few more figures. After a bit more tense waiting, the figure finally arrived at the top of the rise.

"Lord Jude," greeted Natsu.

"Lord Natsu," returned Jude stiffly. "Is there a reason for this meeting? I know you didn't set up a safe-conduct for nothing." Erza and Doranbolt appeared behind him.

"Yeah, there's a few," Natsu replied, looking behind him. "The first is Lucy."

"So you're finally going to give her back?" The two looked each other firmly in the eye. The tension in the air was electric.

"No."

"What?!"

"You heard me. Lucy's not a possession, that you can give or take from someone. She has a right to choose her own life. So if she wants to go back, I ain't stoppin' her." Lucy stepped forward.

"Father…"

"Lucy! I demand that you get over here this instant!"

"Just stop this, father. Stop treating me like this… thing that you want to marry off as soon as possible."

"Lucy…?"

"The day I fell into the dungeons was the best day of my life. I chose to run away with Natsu, because I was running away from you. And I'm going to keep running, all my life if I have to."

"How dare you! I gave you everything you ever asked for!"

"You didn't give her a father!" shouted Natsu. "I'd give just about anything for my father to still be alive, but you know what's worse? Having a father like you!"

"You…" Jude seemed unable to respond to this.

"Okay, so that's settled," Natsu said in a sudden change of mood. "The other reason I wanted to meet was about the war."

"The… the war?" stuttered Jude, still taken aback.

"Yeah. We've been fightin' so long I doubt anybody remembers why they're doin' it. All these lives are bein' lost for a forgotten cause." He stepped forward. "I don't know about you, but I don't see any reason to keep fightin' like this. I met an old man in a village on the edge of our kingdoms, who said he and the townsfolk there lived outside the war, not on anyone's side. At the time, I didn't really understand his way of thinking, but I'm startin' to.

"It's because of you that I lost seven years of my life, and it's 'cause of you that I lost my father and my uncle, not to mention Lisanna. But… I'm willing to overlook those things, if we can form a bond of peace. Yeah, I suffered a lot by your hands, but other people are suffering more because of this war. If I try to take revenge, then eventually someone on your side'll want revenge too, and then we're stuck in this endless bloody cycle. Maybe that's all this war has been from the beginning: someone getting hurt and looking for somewhere to cast the blame."

Natsu reached up and removed the gold circlet he was wearing, and tossed it aside onto the ground.

"Why have two kingdoms, anyway? Maybe if there were just one kingdom, we wouldn't argue so much. There's always gonna be people who disagree, which is why this war got started, and why it's been goin' on so long. But if we work together, we can maintain peace for a little while, at least, and give these war-scarred people time to heal."

He held out his hand to Jude. "What do you say?"

"I-I…" The speech seemed to have struck Jude in a place he had tried to seal up. He shakily reached out to shake Natsu's hand. But he stopped before he quite got there. "How… how childish," he said, voice hardening. "What a childish view! But then again, you are only a child! How could such a young king be expected to understand?!" He started to laugh. But when he looked up, the laughter died in his throat.

"E-Erza…?" he breathed unbelievingly. Erza had stepped out in front of him. She slowly and deliberately unsheathed her sword and dropped it on the ground. The steel rang as it hit the discarded circlet.

"I did many things I regret, under your orders," she said coolly. "I told myself it was for the greater good. But what greater good is there? Lord Natsu is absolutely right." She paused. "There is none." Erza crossed the few yards of grassy slope between them and positioned herself behind Gray.

"Me too," Doranbolt said suddenly. "I… I was afraid of you, so I did what you told me. But I never wanted to do those things." Another sword clattered against the circlet. "I even snuck in extra food for Natsu while he was imprisoned, and I managed to keep it secret from you. So I guess I've been a traitor from the start."

"Doranbolt-!" From the other side of the rise, more of Jude's men stepped up. Without a word, they all walked past him, and threw down their arms on the growing pile of weaponry.

"Lahar! Bixlow! Kageyama!" Jude cried helplessly. "Get back here!" Desperation filled his voice. "Not you too, Laxus-!"

"That old man you were talkin' about," Laxus asked in a low voice as he passed Natsu, "His name wasn't Makarov, by any chance, was it?"

"Yeah, it was," Natsu answered. "He misses you."

"So," Jude said into the now silent air, "you managed to steal all of my men. I suppose that means you can do whatever you want." He looked down. "And what would you call this new, united kingdom of yours?" Natsu thought for a moment.

" _Do fairies have tails?"_

" _You know, I suppose they might. Nobody really knows, because nobody's ever seen one. Maybe if those kingdoms will stop their ridiculous fighting, they could send out an adventurer to find the place where fairies live, to see if they have tails or not."_

" _Maybe I'll be that adventurer!"_

" _Maybe you will."_

"I think I would call it… Fairy Tail."

,oOoOo,

THE END

'OoOoO'


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